Someday: the Sequel! A Dec 2013 PTR

[Tinker_Tam]

We always have bad luck when we go to AK with my parents. The year I was pregnant it was absolutely frigid. It was so miserable. Then the last time we went with them it POURED! Even once it stopped we were still walking around soaking wet and cold. But when we go without them... it's great! Hmmmmm...

If I remember correctly, the fridig year was 2010? I think you were there while we were... or we were leaving as you arrived... or something like that. Perhaps you need to go on different days than your parents! LOL

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I have been wanting to get an update done this weekend. Our trip is quickly approaching. Unfortunatly, Gavin has had some additional drs appt this week. He has a "wet" lung and also some skin issues going on. So they gave him more meds (as though he needs more) and then Friday we saw another specialist for the skin issues. They did some biopsies to rule out melanoma and MORE meds. We go back in 2 weeks and hopefully we will get the ok from all the drs at that point to go to Disney. We already have his GI dr and the Ped surgical team signed off on the trip. We just need the final from his pediatrician. Who has said that he most likely has no problem but wants to see what happens with this lung first. In any case, we are going. I was more concerned with the GI drs and surgeon.

Then, Brenda comes home from school on Friday and is in just about tears with a sore throat. I didn't think anything about it. Gave her some Tylenol and we curled up to watch TV together for a while. After a while, she was still miserable so I looked in her mouth, thinking it might by tender... and instead I find blisters. She also had spots on her hands and feet. Yep, she has Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Called Tele-nurse and there is nothing they can do since it is a virus... just let it run its course for 7-10 days. Needless to say, Gavin woke up this morning saying his throat hurt. When I looked he has 3 or 4 white spots. Praying it is not HFM Disease. It will hit him harder. I am just glad that it was here and not in Disney.

So all of this to tell you why I haven't posted our next day yet. I will get to it hopefully today, or tomorrow. Since the kids are not contagious at this point, if they feel up to it, they are allowed to go to school. Now remember, Gavin has gone to school with his intestine draining out his side... Through a nasty fit to NOT go home and stayed all day. Guess the kids will be going.

In the meantime, if you bought bracelets from Brenda and have been waiting for a Belle or Arial. They are in. Brenda finished the bracelets and I was going to mail Friday, but then things happened. I am hoping to get to the post office on Tuesday. It's Parent/ Teacher conference day so I will have the car!!

 

[stephielela]

Yes 2010 was freezing! We were there mid December so we were shortly after you I believe!

Sorry to hear about the kids being sick!! How awful! But you are right, better than at Disney!!! Hope everyone has a speedy recovery!

Yay for Ariel's arrival! Looking forward to seeing the finished products but since they are Christmas gifts, there's no rush

 

[Tinker_Tam]

I wrote this to a friends on Facebook and decided that I wanted to share this on my TR. It's another Brenda Brag...

OK, I have a Brenda brag. I just had my parent/ teacher conferences for both Brenda and Gavin. Both are at the top of their classes. Both exceeding their grade level. Both very good kids... but Brenda's teacher (a male teacher--married with 6 kids) told me that Jon and I need to write a book on parenting! He seriously teared up (and said he NEVER does that) and told me that he loves Brenda's servants heart. Apparently he tells her regularly that she should grow up to be a teacher or a nurse or something important like that... someone who gives something to the world. I am so proud of her. He even said that he would ALMOST consider moving up to teach 3rd grade if he were guaranteed to have Brenda in his class. Wow! I was overwhelmed. In the end, he said that her teacher last year told him that he owed her one when she placed Brenda in his class. Last week he took her in a 2 LT bottle of Diet Pepsi and some homemade cookies from his wife as a Thank you!

Now that I am home (at least till Girl Scouts) and EVERYONE is home... We are going to have some Disney time. We rented Monsters University. We also need to make our countdown calendar! So its a Disney day!!!

 

[scottny]

Yay Scott's here!! Tammy he will be a Dine with an Imagineer with me and Bill .

Tracy. And he is looking forward to it.

Welcome Scott!!! So glad you were able to join in!! I have to remember to pay Kathy the finders fee!
I hear she is waiting for it.

Thanks for the kind words about Brenda and Gavin. They really are my world. Not sure how I got along before them... especially since Jon and I are so boring without them!
I am sure you're not boring.

That pizza hat is the root of many arguments between Brenda and Gavin right now. It all started when Gavin said he would share with Brenda. Seems they both want it at the same time.
Isn't that always the case.

Don't look at the projected weather for our AK day... I'll tell you now, it says THUNDERSTORMS! I know its still a long way off but since the weather was down right freezing last trip, I have been checking the weather here and there. Temps still look awesome though... so I can deal with some rain!
Plenty of time for it to change. If it rains another park will be chosen that has more shelter.



Oh that is awesome!! It really is a small world... It's a small world after all... It's a small world after all... Is it stuck in your head now???

 

[stephielela]

That's so great that Brenda's teacher recognizes how special she is!! did you tell her what he said? He's right, you guys have done a great job!

 

[MaryAz]

What great parent/teacher conf!! Can't wait to meet your amazing kiddos!! Hope your Disney movie time was fun!!

 

[KatMark]

I am glad (from you and I talking on FB) that the kids are doing a little better. You still have time until the trip and hopefully they will be a lot better by then.

on both kids doing well in school.

And for Brenda. I am not at all surprised by what her teacher said.

 

[mchelle77]

Ugh, this is the type of stuff that stresses me out for a good amount of time leading up to vacations - illness, injury, etc. Hope they're feeling better!

My daughter just went to get an xray on her arm for a possible (small) fracture. She fell from a jungle gym and says it hurts, but not TOO bad. But enough to not be able to extend her arm without discomfort. Find out later today.

And that's AWESOME about those great comments from her teacher!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

That's so great that Brenda's teacher recognizes how special she is!! did you tell her what he said? He's right, you guys have done a great job!

I did tell her some of the things. She is such a sweet girl... but I sometimes fear she will run her mouth about things she shouldn't!

What great parent/teacher conf!! Can't wait to meet your amazing kiddos!! Hope your Disney movie time was fun!!

Mary, I am looking forward to meeting you and the girls too!

I am glad (from you and I talking on FB) that the kids are doing a little better. You still have time until the trip and hopefully they will be a lot better by then.

on both kids doing well in school.

And for Brenda. I am not at all surprised by what her teacher said.

The kids were even a little bit better this morning. The only thing that I am truly worried about is Gavin wet lung. I am hoping that the antibiotic kicks in soon.

Brenda is such a kind hearted soul. It makes me feel good to know that she is that way outside my sight too.

Ugh, this is the type of stuff that stresses me out for a good amount of time leading up to vacations - illness, injury, etc. Hope they're feeling better!

My daughter just went to get an xray on her arm for a possible (small) fracture. She fell from a jungle gym and says it hurts, but not TOO bad. But enough to not be able to extend her arm without discomfort. Find out later today.

And that's AWESOME about those great comments from her teacher!

The kids are feeling a little better each day. Brenda is back to about 75% already, which is good since its really only been 5 days. They said 7-10 days so she is on the right track. Gavin is the one that takes longer and get things more severe. The smallest cold turns into something major for him.

I will pray that its not a break and perhaps just a bruise. Thy can sometimes hurt so bad too.


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Stay tuned! I am currently uploading pictures so you all can see our beautiful countdown calendars. Will post more in just a few minutes!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

First, Thank you all for the kind words about my kids. My family really is my whole world. It is so nice to see my kids are the same kids when they are out of my sight. I know you all get tired of the Brenda/ Gavin stories but hey, this is my PTR... skip them if you like!

On a non-trip moment (skip if you are tired of my kids! )... Each of them have their own songs that fit their life and what they mean to me. Brenda's song is of course "In my Daughter's Eye's by Martina McBride". From the very first time I heard this song (after her birth) it reminded me of Brenda. She really was sent to save me. I know I have shared before that is 53 weeks my mom died, my gram died, my pap died, my dad moved to MN and we had VERY little contact, plus Jon and I had miscarried several times, one at 16 weeks. It was the darkest point in my life and things looked dark. From the moment she was brought into this world everything was gone and all that mattered is that she brought a bright new future with her.

Then we have Gavin's song, which I am sure many of you will not know. It is an upbeat Christmas song called Overcomer by Mandisa. It reminds me that Gavin may face many things but he will overcome it all and he does. Each new issue with Gavin he faces (sometimes much better than I do) and pushes through them. If you haven't heard the song, check it out on YouTube. It is an awesome some... very far from typical "Christian" music.

Ok, I am not 100% sure why I shared that... but I did. And since I have typed it all out I am not going to hit delete.

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Let's get to this countdown started!

Yesterday was an fun day. The kids were off school and I had both my parent/ teacher conferences over by 10 AM. So what else is there to do but have a Disney day! Jon had picked up Monster's University. The kids had not seen it yet. Once I got back Jon and I told the kids we were going to have some Disney fun! We started the day with getting back into Jammies! Every day where we get back into Jammies is a great day!!! We were all comfy cozy and popped up a table in the living room to get to work. The kids started by coloring little pictures from Mini packets.

It was then that Jon came up with a great idea... lets make a Mini countdown for the car. The kids jumped all over that idea. So first, we completed our car countdown. It looks like this...

On this countdown, when we get to a new state we lift off the current state... and then of course as we get near Disney, the Mickey head has DISNEY written on it. I think it will be fun for them... and perhaps help them so just how far we need to go. They helped with cutting it out and then they put the stickers on it.

Then we got down to work on our countdown calendar. The kids had colored some pictures from a bunch of mini books. I picked them up to hand out at the parades and things. they are cute little packets that I picked up after Halloween with mini coloring books, 2 crayons and a sticker... all Disney themed of course. The kids are super excited to know they can hand them out to other kids. They love giving.

Here is a picture of the completed countdown Calendar. They did all the "putting on" of numbers, pictures and stickers. All I did was writing. I think they did a great job!


After completing the countdown calendar we all cuddled together on the couch and watched Monsters University. It was good! Although, Brenda had some issues with it till the end. She didn't like seeing how mean Mike and Sully was to each other. She didn't like to see them not getting along and she didn't like the way the others bullied them. She has such a huge heart. I had to keep reminding her that I was sure things would work out in the end and they would be friends forever. I also reminded her that Sully went on to be the best Scarer there was, in spite of things. And reminded her that Randal was a meany and got what he deserved in the next movie. I do think the movies being out of ordered messed with them a little. In the end though, both kids enjoyed the movie and I would give it a thumbs up!

Brenda was able to take the first Mickey head off this morning before School. We are actually counting down the days till we leave. It's funny but that was a BIG debate when we were making our calendar. Each had their own idea. So in the end we decided to count down the days till we leave... it was less. Brenda will take off all the odd numbers and Gavin will remove the even ones. He was already excited to be taking off a day tomorrow!

So here we are at 16 days till we leave!!! Everyone is excited beyond belief! In fact, I am so excited you all might just get another day of plans today... or tomorrow at the latest!!!

 

[KatMark]

I absolutely love the song for Brenda. (((hugs)))

I love the countdown for the car...what a great idea.

And the countdown calendar itself looks great. 16 days for you (20 for us)...it's coming so fast!

I'm glad you got a Disney fun day; sounds like the kids are feeling better.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Love Love LOVE the countdown calendars!! Jon is so creative, the idea for the car one is fantastic!! I am so happy for all of you!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

I am sure by this point in our trip, our butts will start to drag. There will be some tired kids... and adults... But this trip has left little time to slow down. Besides, we can always slow down AFTER CHRISTMAS! Yes, that looks like the most feasible time that we will have to slow down.

This day will find us at Epcot! We have 2... and only 2 days for Epcot this trip. Being the kids are still young, I think we will be ok. If they were a little older there are many more things I would like to do at Epcot, but really, if we just get a touch of each country and a few story tellers I will count it as a success!

I really lucked out on the FP+ department. I had all my fastpasses in place before they went to a tiered system so I was able to get the biggies on each day.

We will start our day off with Test Track. Brenda was able to ride this the last time, but Gavin was too small. I know it has been refurbed since we were there last so this will seem new to Brenda too. I will also tell you that I did NOT get to ride Test Track last trip. Brenda and Jon rode, while Gavin napped in the stroller and he and I froze! It was so cold that night that I told Jon we could just go back to the resort and would catch it on another day. Well, that day never came... at least not that trip. So I am looking forward to it this trip. I'll have to double check Gavin's height to make sure he is tall enough... In fact, I have to do this with many of the rides. He actually shrunk between Drs appts. I am hoping its just from being different times of day and the Drs didn't seem concerned so hopefully it was a fluke!

After Test Track we will grab some QS lunch. We will head in the direction of Soarin'. (See I told you that I lucked out!) This will also be Gavin's first ride on Soarin'. I did get to ride it last trip... twice! And it was my all time favorite EPCOT ride. Although, most of the first trip I spent watch Brenda. She was in amazement of the things going on around her. It was so cute.

After Soarin' we will head toward the front of the park and off to dinner. We are eating at 1900 Park Fair that night. I am guessing it is going to take us about an hour to get to the Grand Floridan from Epcot so depending on time, we may take a look around the resort. We can't leave without some pictures of the Gingerbread house and the GIANT tree.

After a dinner that I am hearing mixed reviews about (although its a great time to see characters and wasn't booked for the food) we will head back to Epcot to use our last Fastpass of the night. We have a Fastpass for the special seating for Illuminations. This is the only night we will make illuminations, I think.

After the show, I am sure the kids will be tired... or at least the grown ups. We will most likely make our way around and see a country or two, while we head to the exit. Then back to Pop for the night. Although, the next morning we do get to sleep in a little longer so we might hit more than I expected.. guess we'll play that by ear.

Back at Pop we will maybe get a snack and meet up with friends, if available. If not, that is fine too. We all have a busy week going. Bed before midnight might be a good thing!

 

[KatMark]

December 6 plans sound great, Tammy.

This is our Studios day for the Osborne Lights, but we might be at Epcot later that evening for EMH's.

I hope you get a few of the Storybook tellers in...they truly are wonderful.

 

[stephielela]

Great plans!! I am bummed about the tiered system, and when I did our FP's for January, Illuminations viewing wasn't listed

Edit: NOW it's listed but it's still a tier 1 option and we need to get Soarin FP's

 

[francis6306]

I think since Gavin things Dinosaurs are "cool" he should be fine. I on the other hand might need a chiropractor adjustment when we are finished!!
Uh, YEAH! Dinosaur is a tough ride on your spine!!



I should make Miss Kathy take Brenda and Gavin too! I can imagine that AK would be a terribly hot park in the summer. I have been thinking about things and I am kinda wondering if AK is my least favorite park because it was also the COLDEST days of our trip last time. We had on winter coats, gloves, hats and still froze to death... That is saying a lot when you are from PA!!

OMG, our trip that year was SO COLD!!!!! What was UP with that?!!? I can tell you, going last year in Nov, it was so nice to not have to worry about hats/gloves/coats! It was still cool- but some days we were quite warm!

We always have bad luck when we go to AK with my parents. The year I was pregnant it was absolutely frigid. It was so miserable. Then the last time we went with them it POURED! Even once it stopped we were still walking around soaking wet and cold. But when we go without them... it's great! Hmmmmm...

I was there in Dec 2010, pregnant and it was so cold. I'm praying for good weather in March!

 

[francis6306]

Oops! I forgot to ask! What loom does Brenda use for her bracelets? I'm thinking of getting Cortlyn one- she LOVES projects and I think that this would be a good creative outlet for her!

 

[scottny]

The countdowns are great.

Day 7 sounds great. That is our first rest day.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Hello again everyone. I know I need to get to shout outs and things but I really NEED to get this post going. I want to type out every bit of it so its not forgotten. I want to savor every detail. I know you all are thinking that at this point I am exaggerating... but I am not. Read on, but have tissues ready!

I have to go way back to start this story... like maybe Monday. (Although, that is a guess). Anyway, Tracy informed me that she was sending the kids a box of goodies. I had known it would be coming. They were waiting till we had dropped the bomb on the kids. In fact, for quite a while, Tracy was simply waiting for the news to be spilled. I had known many of the things inside the box for the kids. So Wednesday morning Tracy PMed me on Facebook to let me know that UPS would be dropping a box. Well, it happened to be a day when we got several packages from the mail, FedEx and I got confused and thought UPS had been there. Finally, I was walking out the door to go get the kids around 3:45 when MR. UPS met me in the driveway. I noticed that there were not 1 box, but 2. In any case, I was in a hurry, glanced at the return address on box and saw that one was indeed from Tracy. The other was from Lenora! I was shocked because I was not expecting anything from her. So I put the boxes right inside the door on our living room floor and rushed off to Brenda and Gavin. On Wednesday, the kids have Good News Club after school till 4:00. I am always early because I worry if they get out a few minutes before I would be there. So, I am there, usually, no later then 3:45. This week it was more like 3:55 but they were running late too. So I sent off a quick message to Lenora to let her know I had gotten her box and that we were headed right home to open it. Well, the kids ran a little late. It was their day to take snack so they were gathering up the extra packets of trail mix I made and trying to offer it to anyone that would take it. They were unaware that their dear mom was in the car, ready to burst. I even told them, because they can be s-l-o-w getting in the car that we had gotten some surprises in the mail today. So then they sped things up.

Everyday when the kids come home, they have a set routine. They come in, take off their shoes and put them in their cubbies. They get out their homework folder and put it on the kitchen table where I sit. Gavin also has to get out the Cecostomy pads from the day and place them on top of the washing machine so I can wash them. Then he has to wash his hands. On this day, things were just taking too long for me. When we got home, I did message Lenora to let her know that we just got home and were taking care of things. I should also mention that the first time I messages Lenora, she left me know that they package was not only from her, but also, Jennifer, Stephanie and Natalie! So she set up a PM with all of us going. I told them all that we were going to start as soon as the kids were ready.

Here the kids are waiting...


So we got started. First we opened the box from Tracy and Bill. The kids LOVED the things in their... and loved playing with the packing materials!!!


The kids got so many awesome things. They were in LOVE with their water bottles because they could wear them..



Brenda got a bag of girly things.. nail polish, nail appliques, and a necklace she fell in love with the minute she saw it.


Gavin got an awesome Lightening McQueen hat. He says he is now part of the pit crew.. and one of my favorite things is a shirt that Tracy made Gavin. It has Jake on it and says "Gavin and the Neverland Pirates". It is such a cute shirt... but I had to whisk it away to the Disney bag to be packed... No wearing it till we get back, because MOM, SAID SO!! In the bag was also the Disney bus set and an Animal Kingdom Vinalmation. (Side note: Gavin put the Vinalmation on top of the Disney Bus and drives it to "Animal Kingdom" now!! It's so cute!!!)


Brenda also got an awesome t-shirt. That has Brenda and the Beast. I would love to show you a great picture of it, but this is how she stood for about 10 minutes.


They also got their shirts that we are all wearing to MVMCP. (Although, do you know that I HATE that abbreviation?)

Tracy also sent Jon and I an awesome Disney World Bag and on it is a Chip pin!!! I am a HUGE HUGE fan of Chip and Dale. They are my all time favorite characters... I think it is because I have my own little Chip(ette) and Dale here! We also got the soundtrack to Illuminations! (Side story, last night at dinner I put Wishes in to listen too. Before it got started Brenda asked if we were going to listen to Contractions! It took me 5 minutes to figure out she was talking about Illuminations!!) Also, there were cookie cutters in there too that I am going to get to use this coming week... I think! This is also the ONLY picture you will see of me in this story!! My hair was looking bad because it was a cleaning day... and I was starting to break down into the UGLY cry!


By this time the kids were ready to move on. They were doing a super job at taking turns opening their packages... and didn't want to spend another minute watching mom with her "grown-up toys".

So at this point, I had them pick up their packing materials and toss the trash... Buying us a few more minutes. I have to tell you that at this point, Jon and I are overwhelmed already. So many things for the kids and us. We were just in shock....

***Continued in the next post***

 

[Tinker_Tam]

So the kids got the stuff from the first box all cleaned up. They were ready to dig into the next box from Natalie, Stephanie, Lenora, and Jennifer. Jon opened the tape.


Immediatly after pulling the tape off the box, Brenda needed to make a potty run. That gave Jon a few minutes to feel around the box. He found some bags on top and took a peak at what was in them... and this is what I see...


Please remember that we are already overwhelmed by Tracy and Bill's generosity and now another package... And inside well, Jon was so overcome by emotion that he really couldn't talk or even look at us for a few minutes. He was just in WOW! What the kids found inside those bags were this...


Yes, at this point the tears went from sappy tears to downright UGLY CRY tears. At this point, my cell phone had been going off regularly with the girls PMing back and forth. They were curious as to what was going on. I couldn't even reply to them. First, I didn't want to miss a minute of the kids expressions and next because I was actually crying enough that Brenda asked if I was ok. She wanted to make sure I wasn't sad before she opened any more of her things.

The kids continue to open things... cars, and a car wallet for Gavin (which he snuck into his pocket for the Drs today).


And as if the ears didn't put me over the edge already... Their were American Girl dresses for Brenda... of her ALL TIME FAVORITE Princess BELLE!!!! Both the Blue dress and yellow gown. At this point I am a sodding idiot!!


From there we got tons of snacks for the car ride down (Hoping the kids sleep the whole way so I can gobble them! ) and Mickeyronie and Cheese. I made the Mickeyronie and cheese with our pork chops last night. Oh it was the yummiest!! Brenda, who will only ever eat my homemade mac n cheese (that is a pain to make) HAD SECONDS!!!!


There were so many great things in the box that just helped us all get through the night... and helped Gavin get through the bad day yesterday. Yes it was a rough day yesterday for Gavin. He laid on the couch, wearing his "Gavin McQueen" hat and watching the Mickey ears light and dance. He went from telling me at the last Dr appt "I'm not sure Disney is worth all this" to laying their yesterday dreaming of when we leaving. In fact, this is how Brenda got through her night... (snuck this when she wasn't looking!)


It is here though, that I stop posting pictures. Inside the box was a card from each of the ladies. I had to read these cards through running down the face and soaking my shirt tears. As if everything wasn't already enough, the kind words in their cards have touched me. I went to bed that night thinking about all the amazing friends I have made on the Dis. To be honest, I also thought about all the support that these boxes from Tracy, Bill, Stephanie, Natalie, Lenora, and Jennifer brought to my family and how little support I get from my dad on this. It's then and there that I decided I am done trying to get his support when the support I get is so overwhelming, from ALL OF YOU. It was truly an eye opener and I realized I don't need his support. My family is going to Disney and going to have an awesome time. My family has amazing friends that do support us. Friends that write just to ask how the kids are... or drop a message to let me know they are thinking about us... or read along on my PTR... or buy silly bracelets from Brenda so she has spending money on the trip... Or send us reminders of how special we are and how much they understand how needed this trip is. Thank you all from the bottoms of our hearts.

Ok, I am going to post this now... even before proof reading it because I am tearing up again. Hope you all enjoyed this sappy side of me.